In the midst of all the insanity that is often known as my life, the only other thing that calms my mind and body as much as the gym is cooking. Normally this time of year, with school sports in a lull and waiting for the Spring seasons to start, I have limitless amounts of time to play in the kitchen at the stove. Unfortunately with training, getting my classes ready to take off and working on a presentable package for my fitness business, I don’t get to cook as often as I would like to.

The result is typically me cooking one big meal on Monday and milking left overs for lunch and dinner a few days after until I can cook again.

After a beautiful and balmy Saturday last weekend, I was able to get my grille out and do some grilling. But, because it was so damn good, there were zero left overs. Then of course I dug around on Pinterest. Good, old, trusty Pinterest. I’d remembered someone I followed posting about Quinoa Fried Rice and after looking around for a bit, I found it. So, while I watched my beloved West Ham Hammers defeat Sunderland, I dug my pots and pans out and cooked my heart out.

Now, my dog was a bad, bad little doggy yesterday while I was at work and peed on the corner of the storage bench/coat rack that is in the sunroom. Because he was a bad dog, it was with great pleasure I enjoyed every single bite with many “Mmms” Including each bit that had snap peas in it (his favorite). I know, I’m a mean dog mom, but he was a brat.

Of course, it’s me, and I can never cook something exactly according to directions. So the recipe below has been tweaked to match what I cooked (higher protein so it’s great for post-gym deliciousness!)

Ingredients

1lb ground chicken

1 cup quinoa

1 ½ cups water

¼ small onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 eggs, lightly scrambled (still raw)

2 cups snap peas

Sauce:

1 ½ tablespoons teriyaki sauce

2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, and then reduce to a simmer. Season with salt.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and cooked through. Remove from heat and let set for five minutes or so. Fluff with a fork.

Set aside to cool

Cook ground chicken until no longer pink. Strain and set aside.

Mix teriyaki, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over a high heat. Add onion and red pepper, cook about two minutes. Add snap peas, cook another two minutes. Add in scallions, garlic and the remaining olive oil. Stir-fry about two minutes. Add sauce and mix well. Make a well in the center of the quinoa pour eggs in, scramble. Toss in the chicken, and quinoa, then mix everything together until well incorporated. Cook on low for about 3-4 minutes, then serve.